The private and family life residence card: which ground, what price
The VPF card covers very different situations: pick your ground to see what it requires and what it costs.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Your private and family life card
First card
€350
| of which regularisation fee | €0 |
| Renewal | €250 |
The "vie privée et familiale" (private and family life, VPF) residence card is issued to foreign nationals whose ties in France justify their stay, and it lets you work without the employer applying for a work authorisation. There are many grounds: spouse of a French national, parent of a French child, family of a lawfully resident foreigner, close, long-standing and stable personal and family ties, a young adult who came through family reunification or arrived as a minor, a work-accident pension with at least 20 % permanent incapacity, health, victims of domestic violence or trafficking, three years of solidarity work, and humanitarian grounds. The price follows the ground: €350 for a first card at the standard rate, €150 for a young adult or a pension holder, €50 on medical grounds. Someone applying on personal ties who entered without a long-stay visa pays €650 including the regularisation fee. Renewals are filed between 4 and 2 months before the card ends.
One card, ten situations
The VPF card is not a single permit with a single condition: it is a family of grounds set out in articles L423-1 to L423-23 of the CESEDA (immigration code) and, for health and victim protection, in articles L425-1 to L425-11. The card’s official Service-Public.fr page covers each one. The most common are the spouse of a French national, with a genuine shared life and the marriage registered in France if it took place abroad (dedicated page), and the parent of a French minor who has supported and raised the child since birth or for at least two years (dedicated page).
Next comes the family of a lawfully resident foreigner outside family reunification, such as the spouse of an EU long-term resident from another EU country, who must apply within three months of arrival; the young adult who came as a minor through family reunification and gets the card at 18, or 16 to work; a young person born in France who lived here at least eight years and had five years of schooling after age 10, one placed with child welfare (aide sociale à l’enfance) by age 16, or the child of a subsidiary-protection holder. Add the holder of a work-accident or occupational-disease pension paid by a French body with at least 20 % incapacity, victims of domestic violence or threatened forced marriage with a protection order, trafficking or pimping victims who filed a complaint or testified, people hosted for three years by a community and solidarity organisation, and humanitarian or exceptional grounds.
Price by ground
| Ground | First card | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse of a French national | €350 | €250 |
| Parent of a French child | €350 | €250 |
| Personal and family ties | €350 | €250 |
| Young adult who came through family reunification | €150 | €100 |
| Work-accident pension | €150 | €100 |
| Medical grounds | €50 | €50 |
These amounts come from the card’s page and the official notice on the increase of 1 May 2026. They are due when the card is handed over, once the application is approved. The €300 regularisation fee is added in some cases, especially when the applicant entered without a long-stay visa; €100 of it is paid at filing and not refunded if you are refused. The calculator above works it out for your ground.
Personal and family ties: what the prefecture weighs
The broadest ground is also the most contested. Service-Public.fr and article L423-23 of the CESEDA give typical cases: PACS partner of a French national, an EU citizen or a lawfully resident foreigner; parent of a child in school; spouse of a lawfully resident foreigner; someone who arrived as a minor and is now an adult. You must not be a threat to public order, not live in polygamy in France and commit to respecting the principles of the Republic. The prefecture then examines how real, long-standing, close and stable your ties in France are, your living conditions and integration, and the ties you keep with family back home.
No scale says how many years of shared life are enough: it is an overall assessment. The documents that count are those that date and prove things: a joint lease, tax notices, the children’s school certificates, statements. A past order to leave France (OQTF) that was ignored, use of forged documents or serious offences can justify a refusal whatever the ground.
Length, renewal and the multi-year card
The first VPF card usually lasts a year, or the VLS-TS visa covers the first year. Renewals are filed on the ANEF portal at the earliest 4 months and at the latest 2 months before expiry: for a card ending on 30 June 2027, between 28 February 2027 and 30 April 2027. At renewal, the multi-year VPF card, valid two to four years, becomes the norm if you followed the integration contract, reached A2 French and passed the civic exam, unless you are over 65. The multi-year card calculator gives the dates.
Your ANEF filing window
File by
30 April 2027
| Window opens | 28 February 2027 |
| Permit ends | 30 June 2027 |
Documents to prepare
Whatever the ground, the file brings together proof of lawful entry or residence (passport with visa and entry stamp, or a current permit), a full birth certificate, proof of nationality, an e-photo (a digital ID photo code), proof of address less than six months old and the signed commitment to respect the principles of the Republic. Then come the documents specific to the ground: marriage certificate and proof of living together for a spouse, the child’s birth certificate and French nationality for a parent, the pension decision and incapacity rate after a work accident. Documents in a foreign language must be translated. Proof that the stamps were paid is only asked for when the card is handed over.
If you are refused
When you meet the conditions and the prefect plans to refuse, the residence-permit committee must be consulted. A notified refusal usually comes with an order to leave France, which can be challenged before the administrative court within a short period that depends on the type of order. If the prefecture does not answer within four months, the application is implicitly refused and you have two months to ask the prefect to reconsider, appeal to the minister or go to court. This is information, not legal advice: for a refusal, an association or an immigration lawyer is the right contact.